Finished: Vintage Embroidered Patchwork Throw

OK, not the catchiest post title ever, but it is what it is!

I made this throw using six embroidered tablecloths - some were a bit damaged and all were small in size, about 80 x 80 cm. This was an entirely charity shopped project, and the table cloths were bought really cheaply, mostly for not more than £1.50 each. I felt so sad to see all the lovely but unloved  hand embroidered tablecloths in charity shops that I wanted to save them. And even though I've cut them up, I feel they've been given a new lease of life.

I was able to cut two of the tablecloths into four squares and used those to form a central 'X' pattern. The other four cloths I did not use in their entirety so I used two squares from each to fill in around the X.

I also received a whole bag of embroidered table linens from a friend's mother in law, which was lovely. Some of those are included but others were too beautiful to cut up and I still have more to use for small craft projects - I'm thinking bunting and as an addition to clothing.

Or maybe for soft toys - look at these adorable bunnies from Marmalade Rose:

  Image from Marmalade Rose

The back of the throw (it's not a quilt, I just wanted something light) is a vintage single bed sheet opened out, also bought from a charity shop.  I made the binding from the same sheet and I still have a wee bit left.

I'm pretty please with the finished object, not least because I have been meaning to make it for so long! I'm not sure how well it will bear up to frequent use as I'm concerned about cats' claws damaging it since they often lie on the bed. Also, some of the table cloths appear to have more linen in than others (or may be entirely linen) as some wrinkle very easily, which is a bit annoying.

In any case, this won't be the last project you see here using embroidered vintage table linens.

K x